DJI Inspire 1 X5 Professional First Impressions

The DJI X5 Arrived Yesterday, Was It Worth The Wait (Video Below)?

I got back from holiday (after receiving a call from Heliguy whilst in Spain to say it had arrived) to find a UPS advisory on the doormat. I excitedly went to the local pick up point to collect the new X5 from DJI.

The package contained the X5 camera (without lens as I am using the Olympus Zuiko 12mm f2 lens), the new vibration absorbing board and little extension shoes (landing gear risers) for the Inspire 1 legs as the X5 sinks a little lower than the current X3.

The whole lot came in a very sturdy case which happily fits the X5 with Olympus lens attached!

Note: Before doing any maintenance on the Inspire 1 and new X5, ensure that the aircraft is in “take off” position.

Taking off the existing vibration absorbing board was a piece of cake as you just pull the rubber dampeners through the frame but adding the new board took a little time.

Note: You will need a small Allen key or similar to attach the new board which sadly wasn’t included but I had my handy Swiss Army Knife nearby so all was well.

There were a lot of screws (many of which were “pocket spares”) but only 4 needed to hold the board in place. I also received 2 extra landing gear risers with additional stickers.

All in all it was pretty easy to attach the new board and all I would say is to be careful when putting the landing gear risers’ sticky tabs in place because you don’t want to be ripping them in and out which will compromise the effectiveness of them in the long run.

Once in place and sturdy with the Inspire 1 still in take off position, I attached the X5 with Olympus lens (but be sure to slip the rear of the X5 frame into the provided slot prior to fixing the camera connections in place…you could damage the unit if not careful).

Then, turn on the Inspire 1 and let the calibration do its thing. Mine worked perfectly first time and the output to my iPad Mini 4 was superb. I am not sure yet as to whether the Olympus Zuiko 12mm lens needs a balancing ring or filter yet as I haven’t had it in the sky.

I did notice that the horizon crept out of alignment once or twice so will update this once I have flown it a few times or heard back from Heliguy.

I took a series of photos indoors at ISO 6400 and outside at ISO 100/150 and the results were pretty good I must say. A little grain/noise was apparent but that was to be expected.

Here are some sample photos followed by the video clips. Once I eventually get flying with the Inspire 1 and X5 I will post a lot more videos at varying ISO’s and apertures…

DJI X5 Sample Photos

There are four images in total below with four variations for each:

Original JPEG

Edited JPEG

RAW

Edited JPEG @ 100%

…followed by two images taken in low light at ISO 400 taken with the X3 and X5 (with Olympus Zuiko 12mm) at 100%.

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